THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1879.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1769, 21 October 1879, Page 2

THE GLOBE. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1879.

The question of alteration of the mode of paying the Mayoral allowance has been decided by the Council in favor of the present method. To have adopted the mode proposed by Councillor Cuff's motion would, in our opinion, have been a very grave mistake in more ways than one. In the first place it would have placed the Mayor in the very unenviable position of having to ask the Council for every shilling expended by him, which certainly would have the effect of keeping many good men out of the chair. Moreover, should a Mayor be so disposed, and should he be able to command a majority of the Council, the bounds of the expenses he might incur would be only limited by what his own ideas on the subject might happen to be. As it is now, however, a certain fixed sum is voted, and any one aspiring to the Mayoralty of Christchurch knows exactly the amount which will bo at his disposal to cover the necessary expenditure incurred during the year in the discharge of his duties. Should an extraordinary call upon the Mayor arise during his term of office, such as the visit of several distinguished personages, it is competent for the Council, who are of course conversant with the matter, to increase the allowance, so that the Mayor shall not suffer pecuniarily whilst upholding the credit of the city. This seems to us to be the fairest basis upon which the matter can stand. Whether the allowanco should or should not be increased is another question with which at present we have nothing to do. Much might bo said on both sides, and doubtless, as the city increases in importance, the amount voted to the Mayor will require reconsideration. As to the wisdom of the decision of tho Council last night, there can be, we think, no two opinions. In the course of the discussion one of the candidates for the Mayoralty took occasion to express his opinion that it was bad taste on the part of the mover of the resolution to bring it forward now. We confess that we are unable to see the force of this argument. The period of the present mayoralty is drawing to a close, and, therefore, if any change in the method of making the allowance for the expenses of the office is made, now is the time to discuss it. It might be that an alteration or otherwise would influence the candidature of citizens for the office, and therefore it appears only reasonable that the matter should be settled at the earliest possible date, prior to nominations being made for the ensuing year. It would be manifestly unfair for such a matter to be brought forward after the new Mayor had been elected on the express understanding that the allowance for tho year would be made in a certain way. When then could it be done ? Tho sooner the motion came on, the fairer for all parties concerned. Therefore it seems that this objection has no weight whatever, and though not having any sympathy whatever with the views of Councillor Cuff, we cannot but admit that if the matter was to be discussed, it was bettor to settle tho matter at once. The citizens as a whole will, we think, agree with us that in arriving at the conclusion they have, the City Council have acted wisely. «. In taking tho stops they have with regard to gorse hedges in the city, the Council are entitled to the thanks of the ratepayers. For years past ragged and unsightly gorse hedges have been permitted to exist fronting on some of our main thoroughfares, forming not only hiding places for larrikins of all ages, but also a fertile cause of fires. As pointed out by one of the Councillors during tho discussion last evening, tho main offenders are persons of wealth and position, who possess land in the city and prefer to let it lie waste, in order to secure, at no cost to themselves, what is known as the unearned increment. So far so good. No one will quarrel with the proprietors of property for exorcising their undoubted right to do as they like with it. But the citizens have a right to insist that a prolific source of danger from fire should be removed from their midst. It will be remembered that some seven years back the then City Council endeavoured to introduce a somewhat similar enactment, but it was never put in force, owing to public opinion being against it. At that timo, owing to the scattered character of the suburbs of the city, the danger of firo spreading from these hedges was not nearly £•

great. Now, however, much that was waste ground has heen covered with buildings, and it therefore behoves the Council, in the interests of the public, to take such steps as shall reduce the danger to a minimum. This, we think, will be accomplished if they rigidly enforce the provisions of the gorse ordinance within the city. It must, however, to bo effectual, be strictly carried out. There must bo no exceptions, and all must be compelled to comply with the law. We have discussed this subject simply from the point of safety from fire, which of course is a very important one. But there is another view of the question which is worth noticing. That is the appearance of the city. At present there are long stretches of ragged, untended gorse hedges, which are simply a disfigurement to the streets in which they occur. On the two grounds therefore, we hope the Council will rigidly carry out the resolution arrived at last night, which wo feel convinced will be found to be a great benefit to the city at large.